The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1887-10-13
A HEART-BROHEN MOTHER.
A PATHETIC STORY THAT EQU-
AIS IRVING AT HIS BEST.

a Tale of the Privation. Work and Self
Sacrificing Love OF Il Mother and How
it was Repaid.
Especial Cor. STATE CHRONICLE.
She was plump and notherly old lady
who bid me welcome the other evening at
a farm house in Tennessee, with bright
eyes and soft voice that even the brindle
calf, the chickens and litter Of little pups
knew and loved. She hustled about the
room, carpeted with her own handiW ork,
trundled the big arm chair to the fire for
the guest, busted the hearth with turkey
wing and famed the embers till the blaze
cracked and lit the room with a ruddy
glow.
Now move to the fire, SIR" she said,
''for it's cool this evening, and riding has
chilled you | know Father will be in after
a little for supper, but | think | had bet
ter bring you some coffee right here" And
without waiting an answer, she hustled
away on her kindly errand.
How cheerful the red light made the
room, throwing the dancing shadows across
the rag-work carpet and touching with a
comely tint, the plain old furniture, while
in strange contrast the polished frame of
a grand piano cleaned from under its
heavy draping. A woman's handiwork
was here, the patchwork quilt, the cush-
iOned chair, the white frilled curtains told
of frugal care that had made this HOME
and made it beautiful.
But the house was still A little chair
stood near the freside, but only kitten
curled in it and purred at the glowing
Goals.
The little old lady had hustled back, the
coffee was on the go us now. and she kneel-
ed to brown the white bread and fan the
fire again. The hair was white beneath
her cap, and now that | noticed closely
there were lines on her face that do not
always con "'til years, aud the eyes We're
sad when she ceased to speak.
1t was not curiosity to know why the
little chair was empty, nor whose the pOr-
trait was that stood near the old Bible,
the slender girl in white with flowers at
sad, beautiful face from the first and per-
haps she felt that her words touched an
answering chord in my heart.
'Ies, there were two, sir, little girls
both, and both are gone. We buried one
on the hill yOnder, aud the other is out in
the wide world somewhere following d
worthless man. The Group came one night,
and came so Sudden. sir | walked and
they We're gasping and moaning for breath.
No doctor lived near Us then and | had
never seen the Group so bad. All we could
do was done, but no good came. Had tn, Y
been drowning | would have done some
thing, but ii was awful, sir, to sit still and
see them gasp and struggle and die. An
ME was the strongest and fought for life,
but the little four-year- old went down. |
saw it coming when the means grew weak
er and the sobs and ori to mamma" were
choked back in her throat. She seemed to
know and clung to me as If she We're afraid
to go. I've watched death take men and
women, but that nj ight it seemed as If some
awful thing had clutched my baby and
was adragging her from out my arms. And
it did. l hugged her up so close, but she
died there, gasped and gasped till her lit
tie life went out
''We buried her there on the hill and
then came back to Annie. Now life, now
death, it seemed and through those long
winter nights as | watched her and fought
grew into love for her. Yes, | watched
over her and prayed to the Good Lord till
he drove death away. But she grew up
weakly and could never help about the
milking and cooking and things. mo, ba
by, mamma is abler than YOU I'd say
when she would come round, and then she
would take book and curl up by the fire
and read all day. Such book child you
never saw, sir, and she'd learn tunes as
fast as they were sung. a heap more than
''Jesus Lover and There is a Fountain, ="
tunes that bothered me all up, but they
would sound pretty when she'd sing them.
81 want to send that B ,by off to a city
school and make lady ont of her." her
father used to say when size had got up a
little. But we only had the old house and
the farm and somehow it was hard to turn
things into money-and when father went
down to the city to see if they would take
chickens and butter and pies for pay, it
wouldn't work. Annie was ten years
then.
"Well, I'm going to try my hand says l.,
one day, for that baby has got to have a
chance. City people were struggling into
the mountains then and pretty soon | got
| Il lady to write something about our farm
and put it in the papers just to say we
would take boarders. The railroad had
come to the foot of the mountain and soon
my hands were full. Peevish women came
and brought bad children and babies and
nurses from the city. Men would come in
at all hours of day and night and order
| meals, and young fellQws would shoot pis-
| tolls in the house and call me ''old woman
to show how smart they were. But they
brought money, and money was what
wanted for my baby's schooling. What is
all this to making her lady, I'd say, and
so l did the work myself, to save, and
nursed the sick ladies as best could, and
got the ducks ont Of the we'll when the
| children threw then IL, and ran after the
calves when the boys let them in the COW
pasture.
"When September came Baby was at the
| city school, Dress her like lady, said l
and teach her ali that money Gan buy.
"When got back home l sat down and
cried. tried to think it was because
| was so glad but lG seemed / couldn't live
nine months without her. But presently
news came from the city of how we'll she
was doing, and then in the lonesome days
I'd think of ner coming home, and what
she would do, and if she would be much
changed or not, and so the winter passed
"Well, ! needn't tell you Of her coming
She cried and | cried, and it seemed never
would get tired of looking at her, so pret
ty she had grown, and trim and light.
wished that boardc1s would come som'
other time that | might have her all th'
GUNNER to myself. But ! was busy agail
with the summers work, nursing and milk
ing and cooking. September came and sh
was away, and SO another year passet
and another, and another, till June wa
here and she was sixteen, and going t.
graduate.
s'Father and went down to hear her rea'
something before all the people, for sh
was the smartest in her class they said
We looked like country folks, l know, an
we had saved for her till our clothes wer
o1I nd nd T